Whitby

A Day Trip to Whitby

This trip was a little different to other trips I’ve been on recently:

  1. It wasn’t with a minibus full of my wife’s colleagues.
  2. It wasn’t reached by minibus, but by train.
  3. It wasn’t in Georgia but in England.
Whitby Abbey

Gothic ruins of Whitby Abbey

We were in England for a week to visit my ageing mother in York. I decided it would be interesting to make a day trip on one of those days and I chose Whitby for our destination, having recently read Dracula. The famous Count chose to land in England, at Whitby on his voyage from the Black Sea.

Bram Stoker's Dracula

Bram Stoker’s Dracula

It would have been a much shorter trip to go to Scarborough, which has direct trains from York, but Whitby with a change in Middlesbrough has more to see.

When we arrived after a journey taking around 3 hours (Scarborough could have been reached in little over one hour), we headed first up the 199 steps to the ruined gothic Abbey on top of the hill. We didn’t go in the Abbey Grounds (£7.50 each seemed a little steep, when did England become so expensive?), but we did admire the view over Whitby and stumbled upon a wonderful pirate festival.

Pirate lass and view over Whitby sands

Pirate lass and view over Whitby sands

Click on the pirate photos to see the gallery.

As well as pirates there was a festival of street-choirs and lots of tourists. Whitby is steeped in history as a fishing port and where Captain James Cook was taken on as a  Merchant Navy apprentice. The Gothic abbey and the Dracula connection make the town a mecca for goths, who can pick up jet jewellery and various gothic trinkets to add to their collections.

The Dracula Experience

The Dracula Experience

As with many seaside destinations there are also the usual attractions of the British seaside: rock, sandcastles, the sand between your toes and the icy waters of the North sea for those brave enough to venture into the waters.

sandcastle

sandcastle

P1300414

Yorkshire Baywatch

Khato braves the North Sea

Khato braves the North Sea

sand between your toes, memories of beach holidays past

sand between your toes, memories of beach holidays past

seagulls

seagulls

greedy gulls home in on discarded meals

greedy gulls home in on discarded meals

Another visitor to Whitby is the seagull. Unlike most birds the seagulls don’t fly away as you approach. They are on the lookout for choice titbits left by tourists and will happily dive onto an unguarded plate.

At the end of our trip we relaxed in a pub named “The Endeavour” after Captain Cook’s ship and Khato tried some English beer, to slake her well earned thirst.

“The Endeavour”

Are these the lucky Whitby Ducks?

Are these the lucky Whitby Ducks, Hugh?

Khato enjoys half a pint of English beer

Khato enjoys half a pint of English beer